Mickey Hart, former drummer for the Grateful Dead, is on stage at Web 2.0 right now and making a whole lot of sense. Jeff Mallet from SNOCAP, a digital licensing and copyright management company is also part of the discussion panel to represent the paid model. Some choice quotes from Mickey: "[The fans] didn't steal it, we gave it away" "If we ever make a good album, they'll buy that." "I've probably been recorded more than anyone else." "We played in the park and we always played better when we played free. I think it's a good thing to share…
Apple is offering pre-orders for upcoming albums such as Coldplay's X&Y (planned release is June 7). You cannot preview any of the tracks on the album through the store even though the first single, Speed of Sound, is currently available for purchase. Apple is trying to get people to order digital music files for future delivery. The iTunes album includes a two exclusive pre-oder tracks, a digital booklet — liner notes? — and a video file. I presume iTunes will download the album the first time the application is launched on or after the full availability of the release. I…
Why does Technorati's search page paginate through 11 result pages when other search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Ask Jeeves all use 10? Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap explains it best in this clip shown below. When you're at 10 where can you go from there? If we need that extra push over the cliff we go to 11. Especially for the all-important presence amplifier.
Earlier tonight I downloaded the latest Nine Inch Nails single after reading a short post from Trent Reznor on the Nine Inch Nails news section (weblog?.
MySpace.com now has R.E.M.'s "Around the Sun" album audio and lyrics available on its site. The album will be officially released on October 5. The album was made available through a partnership with R.E.M.'s label, Warner Bros. Music….
Johnny Ramone died yesterday afternoon after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Charles Young of Rolling Stone published an article based on recent interviews with Johnny. Eddie Vedder and Rob Zombie were at his bedside. From Pet Sematary on the Brain Drain album: Follow victor to the sacred place This ain't a dream, I can't escape Molars and fangs, the clicking of bones, Spirits moaning among the tombstones, And the night, when the moon is bright, Someone cries, something ain't right.I don't want to be buried in a pet sematary I don't want to live my life again, I…
In an August 24, 2004 entry Gene Simmons says "Talked today about a possible (..gulp) QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY appearance. They called and asked me if I would do it. I'm a fan of the show. We may shoot on the 28th of Sept." How will Gene be involved in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? My guess is he will surprise a KISS fan after their makeover. It would be hilarious to see Gene Simmons get some grooming or culture tips, but the show's mission is "to transform a style-deficient and culture-deprived straight man."…
CD Baby put together a summary of copyright considerations when releasing a cover song as a download or on a CD. More simple than I thought. The toughest part is identifying who to contact. Identify the publisher.Send a letter of intent.Pay royalties. (via BoingBoing)…
David Crosby and Graham Nash have come up with a clever way to market their new CD: structure a Web site and weblog like a presidential site. Watch the weblogging world get a hold of the story and you have a very cheap marketing campaign. (via MetaFilter)…
Dave Matthews Band will play a free concert at the Polo Fields in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on September 12. "The concert will benefit Bay Area community charities addressing issues of homelessness among single adults, youth and families, pediatric AIDS and other terminal childhood maladies, Bay Area park improvement and music education resources."…
Procter & Gamble has partnered with Atlantic Records to create a Cover Girl music label. CG Vibesplans to promote itself on social networking site Tickle.com. In need of a targeted sell, a consumer staples company decides to use the online world to target women and help sell more makeup….
Whitney Matheson created a list of 10 best and 5 worst album covers of the summer for USA Today. (via Jason Kottke) I am so disappointed when I buy a CD with bad liner notes or none at all. Keep the good stuff coming and I will place the work on a shelf in addition to my hard drive. Pearl Jam's Vitalogy was an early work to buck the trend of plastic conformity….
Daniel J. Wakin of The New York Times played clarinet with the New York Philharmonic. He had 16 days between receiving the music and stepping on stage to perform but luckily he received help from Stanley Drucker. "I was told I would be treated like a regular substitute. The brochure for subs that I was given listed payment of $1,980 for a week of rehearsals and concerts, or $198 for a two-and-a-half-hour rehearsal and $396 for a single concert, although alas, I was not to be paid. (The base salary for a regular player is $104,000, though many earn far…
Adam Baer of The New York Times writes about the MusicPad from FreeHand Systems. You simply touch the 12-inch LCD display or use a remote control to switch pages. In much the way that portable digital audio players have changed the way people consume tunes, tablets like the MusicPad are changing the way musicians use sheet music….
HBS Working Knowledge on the answer to music piracy. A few good points: Ted Cohen of EMI Music said that EMI is trying to convince Apple that WMA needs to play on iPod and AAC needs to play on WMA devices. He sees this issue as "critical for consumer acceptance." Few users could afford to purchase the thousands of songs you can fit on an iPod. The assumption is you steal the music. My legit music collection is around 20 GB. Most are MP3s encoded at 192Kbps using LAME. Enough for a mid-range iPod without room for growth….
It looks like Apple is planning on releasing iTunes for Windows. Sounds like a good opportunity for Apple to experiment with some revenue driving applications for Windows beyond QuickTime….
